Omoyele Sowore, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2023 general election, has reacted to the criticism against him by his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
Atiku fires the first salvo: In a pre-recorded interview with Arise TV reporters aired on Friday, July 22, 2022, the former Vice President claimed that Sowore has little knowledge of happenings in Nigeria because he lives abroad and only comes in every four years to contest the election.
Quoting Atiku, he said, “he doesn’t even know, because he (Sowore) lives outside the country, he comes every four years to contest the presidency…he fails and goes back again. So, what does Sowore know about this country?… Absolutely nothing.”
Sowore hits back: In a swift reaction, the Sahara Reporters publisher took to his Twitter page to fire some shots at Atiku, saying “it’s time to quit”, after reeling out some of the things he claimed to know about the country.
The AAC presidential flag-bearer challenged Atiku to give an account of, how under his regime as Vice President, the country spent billions of dollars on electricity with little or no result to show for it.
He said Atiku “failed to address how $16bn was used to procure darkness” under his regime, which was the question asked by the reporters before he chose to lay into Sowore.
Sowore’s full tweet:
“Dear @atiku, I watched a clip of your @ARISEtv interview this morning wherein you were asked about my view on power scam under your regime, you failed to address how $16bn was used to procure darkness instead you claimed ‘he doesn’t even know,’ well these are some things I know: You ran for office for the first time in 1992 as a presidential aspirant of the SDP, I also ran for the post of the SU (Student Union) President of the UNILAG, you lost , I won. You left, I stayed, to deliver democracy to Nigerians.
“I then left for the US in 1999 at the age of 28. You went on to become the VP of Nigeria, you left Nigerians in darkness after spending $16billion on power, I stayed with Nigerians, shining light on the mess you and your boss created in that sector. You left, I stayed!
“After your failed plan to succeed your boss (Olusegun Obasanjo) who wanted a third term in office, I stayed to botch his third term bid. You, however, joined another political party and tried your luck, you left after you couldn’t win. You left, I stayed.
“Since 1999, you have lived in about five countries outside of Nigeria. I know this because your IP keeps changing the same way you kept changing political parties. We both contested in 2019, it was my first time contesting, but after the elections, you left, I stayed. I’m still here!
“You’ve done your rounds from the SDP-UNCP-PDP-ACN-PDP-APC back to the PDP, you have never done anything for the Nigerian people, you’ve only taken care of your needs and those that benefit your family, cronies, and friends. It is time to quit and let Nigeria experience electricity!”
“My question again, is this; what happened to the $16billion released for electricity during your tenure as Vice President? #WeCantContinueLikeThis”
Over to you guys,
